Improvement in atmospheric railways



UNrriin- STATES' lMPaoi/EMENTIN ATMOSPHERIC; RAI'LWAYS,"

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N02 114,376. datedSeptember 20, i864.

To all Awhom 'it muy conc-6m .-f I

Be it known that we, ALEXANDER 'aLisoN and JAMES HALLIWELL, both of No.2 Queen Street Place, in the city of London, in the Kingdom ot' 'GreatBritain, have invented new and useful Improvements in AtmosphericRailways; and we'do hereby declare' that Athe following is a full andexact description there ot, reference being had to the annexed sheets ofdrawings, and to the letters and figures. marked thereon, making a partof this speciiication, in which- Figure l is a plan 'of the atmospherictube, showing the line-valve; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section of saidtube, showing the piston and other parts Fig. 3, a transverse section ofthe same, showing the manner of connecting the piston to thepiston-carriage e. Fig.

l4 is a transverse seetior'iot1 the upper-part ef the tube, theline-valve, and other parts. Fig.,

5 is a plan of the crossings .for atmospheric railways, or shunting fromone line to another. 'Figf is a section of the railway at the crossing,showing the dip of the tube. Fig. 7 is a transverse section on line EF', Fig. 5; Fig. 8, a transverse section on line C D; Fig. 9, atransverse section on line A B', showing the manner in which the tubesare arranged at the crossing.

Like letters refer to corresponding parts in the several figures.

The nature of our invention consists, chiefly, in the novel constructionand -arrangement'ot' the line-valve and mode of 'operating the same; inthe peculiar construction of the piston head 5 in the device foroperating the valves in the piston-head, and to the means adopted forslinnting the train 'or crossing from one line to another.

The line-tube A is made of cast-iron or other suitable material, and maybe of' any required size and convenient shape. 'lhcline valve B, Figs. land 4, composed of thelinks Y or plates a, connected by hinge or rulejoint-s b, covers the aperture d in the line-tube. The

links or plates maybe secured together by means ot pins at. thejointsI), if found desirable. A continuous strip or sole ot' leath-er, e, isfixed to the under side ot'the plates a, which-ettectually prevents thepassage of air through the aperture (l when covered by the linevalve B.The plates or links a` are constructed with a longitudinal groove intheir upper surface, as shown in. Fig. 1, forming a' part of the channelC, Fig. 4. Through this.

channel the curved bar e, Fig. 3, extending the length of the piston,passes, thereby removing the line-valve B from the aperture d thedistance shownf in Fig. 1,'to admit the pas- -sage of the pistonrod orplate f, Figs. 1 2,-

and 3, in whichever direction the piston D is moving. "As thepiston-rodv passes along theA The bar e, which is only shown b va transverse' section in Fig. 3, issecu'red at. its endsv ter it is boltedtot-he` piston-rod fand the bar g, Fig. 1. The bar" g is furthereonnected'to the curved bar e by a' piece .extending from one'to theother on botlrrearand front of the piston-bar f. The principal 'objectot'the bar gis to secure increased steadiness'to the curved bare; butincase the latter was disabled the former would -rem'ove the valve fromthe aperture d for the passage ot' the piston-rod j, and thereby preventany serious. injury to the valve or other parts.

rlhe piston l), Fig. 2, is iormedwith two ends or heads E. These endsare Aixed in practice about eight feet apart., thereby se# curing greatsteadiness to the`piston as 'it moves through the line-tube-A. fAirbeing admitted into thespace between the-endsof the piston by theuncovering ofsuccess'ive por tions of the aperture d prevents anypressure of air upon the line-valve B near the pistonrod f, therebylessening greatly the'amount of friction in the `working parts.'Theeniployment of two heads also prevents theair,

admitted into the tube by the reniovalot the valvejlfroin the aperture,ai'ecting the vacuum in front of the piston as wellas the escape of airfrom the rea-rot' the piston,

when thevlaiter is moved partially or entirely by means of compressedair.

Thetwo ends Eef the piston, Fig. 2, which are tirmlysecured together bymeans of the cheeks orplates la., Fig. 2, are each formed ot' twometallic rings, i, connected together by three ormore bolts, j. y Thepackingis formed if a thick band, 7., composed of india-rubbernaterialto lessen the friction, which is formed' n'pieces' and secured'lto saidband near each iolt, i, and isalso provided with a: similar ini-ng. #Theend E is irmly xed to the dome l, the latter being cast with'or .securedto .a ilock, G', which is bolted to the plates' h,as` shown in Fig. 2.The deine-G is'formedwith ipertures 'to admitthe passage 'of Aairvwh'en,he 'piston-yalve is open. This valve, in'each lead, composed of acone-,.H, is operated by yhe conductor 4llirough'the device sh'wn in.lig. 2, consisting of the rods Z o o', bell-'crank' n, and hand-wheel n.When the cone-.valve is closed, the elastic band lc-is extended to',loselyt Ithe interior surface of the line-tube, und the same beingWithdrawn v this band zontracts, when the leather covering will onlynome. in contact with the tube Where the' bolts are placed, therebylessenin'g thej friction and, consequently, the wear of the parts. Ehecone-'valve El is .keyed on the rod l, vhich 'passes through the blockG, and is :onnected at itsopposite end to the bell-crank n. The rod o isconnected 'to the rod o ei- ;her by a' sochetjoint or other suitablemeans, lo that byturning' thewheel 2z, fixed to the lod o, the rod o. isnot rotated,y but merely' Iaised or lowered, as it may-be desired Ytoopen pr close the cone-valveH'. 1. `Thepend of the,r )istons may beformed to act as valves, but

he mode described is more desirable. Y

AOneof the pistons-orvalves h ma'y. be lept pen while 'the trai/n isrunningv if atany time ound desirable; but by the use of two heads`hefmoving power may be zonveniently'` ob-A ained solely by creating avacuum in front f the piston or bycompressing the air inthe 'ea-r, orthe two means may be simultaneously employed. i j

The speed of the train may generally'be 'egulated simply by adj ustingthe cone-valves Whenit is desired to entirely stop the rain, thesevalves may be simultaneouslyT vithdrawr, the aperturesein the dome Gpernitting the air to readily pass through the' iston,the ordinarybrakes beingv at the saine imc applied tothe wheels of the carriage. ioinsure the more sudden-stoppageof atrain n case of accident,slide-Valves may be fixed it suitable distances along the line for Athenrpof e of' closing the tube either in front or car of the train, bywhich means the vacuum s destroyed or the pressureresisted. These 'alvesmay be worked by any convenient dey'ice so as to be under the control ofthe conluctor as the train passes along the line.

The two curyed plates I, Fig. 3, one otwhich s shown in Fig. 2, arefirmly tixed to the botom ot' the piston-carriage F. The four hori'ontall friction-rollers 1- have their bearings in hese plates, asshownpin Figs. 2 and 3. |lhe wo vertical guide-rollers s have .theirhear- .ings inthe fr'amef. When motion is given to the piston' in eitherdirection, the rollers s press against the two forward. rollers r r,thereby propelling the carriage F,to which the trainis attached. Fixedto the. frame f' isl the standard J, carrying the spindle The spacesbetween the plates h and the piston-'rod f are filled with` the piecest, Fig". 3, 'and all areiirmly secured'together, asV

shown vin Fig. 2. A y A The cap-pieces L, Fig. veigylfitlif.t--he.topofthe ltube A, constitute the chamber uf, in which the line-valc BWorks. A desirable form for the chamber w is clearly shown 1in Fig. 4.This chamber is made deeper at the endsth an near the aperture d, inorder to prevent any bindingf of the valve as the latter is removedfrom.

said aperture, and one side is madedeeper than the other to admit thepiece thatbinds together bars e g. The channel ,40, through which thecurved bar. e moves, 4is clearly shown in Fig. 4. This channel .iscovered by a cap, u, formed of leather or other yieldingmate-rial, andconfined on.one edge by the screws u'. This cap is raised by the passageof the piston-rod f and weights may be tix'ed .near the unconned edge toreturn it to its position over the channel C. The soley or bed c of thevalve is made of leather or other suitable material to make a tightjoint without.-Vy much friction, and the spaces o are lilledwithsomeyielding substance,- in order that the cap- I'pieces L may bereadily Iadjusted-as the parts' wear by means of the scrcW-boltsM.

'- .The plan adopted 'for joining two-tubes,

so as to allow of the shunting of the train or crossing from one line toanother, is' illustrated in Fig, The tube is divided at the point N, thefork a: being rounded ott', so as to form bell-mouths to the branches,and a similar .division is made at the point y inthe valve B andaperture d. Vvhen the parts are thus constructed, the anges of thewheels ot' the v said tube. The' tube A 11s-thus 'sunk at'tne" crossingto allow the rails to come 'sufficiently near to form a crossing,,leaving suicient space for the piston-rod to pass, as shown in Fig. 5,and to. prevent the ilanges of the wheels coming in contact with thevalve-chamber. The piston D readily follows the dip ot the tube, theframe f being arranged to move vertically as Well as laterallyindependent of the bottom of the piston-carriage F. These independentmovements prevent any jerking or oscillation of the carriage F fromaiecting the regular motion of the piston D. The

rollers r and s reduce the friction consequent upon the jerking oroscillation of the carriage F, and for this reason only are preferableto plain rods. The tube A should rest on sleepers disconnected -with thesleepers lR, which sustain the rails z, as shown in Fig'. 7. This gureshow/s the ordinary relative pcsition `of the tube'A and rails 2,'(lineE F', Fig. 5,) while Fig. 8 shows the relative position in the line CD', near thecrossing, and Fig. 9 the relative position-ot' the differentp v parts on the 1inc'A B"at the crossing. In

practice, however, the timbers `P Fig. 9,- would be sustained at theends. nearest the tube A by supports disconnected with' saidtube, aswell asy at the opposite end by the independent foundation O.

An atmospheric railway constructed upon A. the plan described admits ofthe successful 1 working of lines with steep gradients, thereby greatlyreducing the cost of grading in hillyV districts, while the cost of therequired permanent way and-plant is much less `than for alocomotiveline. The injury to the permanent way caused by the-running ofa heavy locomotive on ordinary lines is entirely avoided, therebygreatly reducing the cost of repairs, and there is very little danger ofaccidents to thi train.

A part of the improvements hereinbefore described may be advantageouslyapplied to other purposes, such, for instance, asvraising coal orotherrninerals from deep pits.. This Aapplieatien may be made withoutessentially' modifying the parts employed. Two atmos- 1 pheric tubes areplaced vertically in the shaft witha crossbar connecting the twopistons. The tubes are a suflicient distance apart to allow the passageo'f a ca ge suspended to the cross-bar, or a car resting on a platformsupported by the cross-bar. The tubes are each provided with adouble-headed piston, to Y'which the-cross-baris fixed in a mannersimilar to the piston rod f, Fig. 2, and also with a i valve, B,valve-chamber u, and other-parts, constructed in a lnanner similar tothat'dcscribed. The line-valve is operated bymeans of a curved rod, andthe platform is raised by means of a vacuum in the tube above, or byforc ing air into the tube below the piston. The' cage or car is letdown the shaft by admitting air above the piston'by opening avalve, atthe .same time opening a valve -near thebottom of the tube for the escape of air displacedby' the descent of the piston. These valves may bearranged and operated in any convenient inanne'r. vBy the' employment ofthis plan in raising coals and. other substances a great height a largesaving iseffected in the required power, as the-Weight ofthe chains orropes by which the cage is generally raised is I frequently greater-than that of the load. The

liability to accidents is much reduced, as'most of the danger is,nowf`rom the insecurityl ot` the ropes, While the air` that is dischargedfrom the bottom'of the tube will serve to veni.

tilate the pit.

tion of our inventinand shown. how it .may

.be conveniently applied to practical purposes, Wel wishitunderstoodthat we do not confine ourselves to the exact 'details herein setforth,-

but we claim and desire to secure by Letters' Patent of theUniteastatesl. The valve a, whether employed for railway or otherpurposes, and when used in combination with the chamber fw, or Withoutsaid chamber, constructed substantially as de-` scribed.

2. The curved bar e, for removing the valve a from the aperture d andreturning the same after the passageof the piston-rod f, substan-`tially las described.'4

3. The' elastic.packingbandsj, when used,v

on a piston-head, for the purpose and substantially inthe mannerspecified.

4. The cone-valve;-1H,"whether used in a n solid piston-head or-incombinationlwith 'the elastic bandj, constructed and rarranged. for. thepurpose and 'substantiallyin the mannerspecitied. v 2.5. Thevdevice for.operating the cone-,valve H, constructed and arranged substantially inthe manner specified.

6. The 'frame f, with guidcrollers s, so arranged with reference to the.bottom of the carriage P as to allow the pistou D to' follow, the dip ofthe tube at the crossings, and to pre' vent any vertical motion of thecarriage at'- fecting the said piston. I

7. The frame I, with 'guide-rollers 1', so ar, ranged with reference tothe frame j" as to prevent the oscillation of thecarriage P beingcommunicated to the piston D.

8. The branching of the tube A at N, Fig. I

5, and the' branching of the apc'rtured at y,

in connectionpwith the dip of said tube, for thepnrpose of convenientlyshunting the train or passing from one line of rails to a'nother;

ALEXANDER, ALISON. JAMES HALLIWELL." Witnessesz GEORGE HAsEL'rINE,ALEXANDER AmsoN, Jr.

Having thus, fu'llyydescribed.the con'struc-

